NEWSLETTER
It’s not like Chicago Cubs players need some artificial reason to get “up” for the St. Louis Cardinals, and it’s not like Cubs fans need any other reasons to scowl in the general direction of the Cardinals.
But rivalries are fun. And stoking the flames of those rivalries is what keeps them fun.
So I appreciate that Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams told fans at the Cardinals Caravan that the Cubs are “not going to beat us,” per the Springfield News-Leader. Apparently he said it with a smile and maybe a hint of a joke, but you’d like to think he actually believes that. It’s the whole point of playing the games and having a rival, right? And isn’t this all a lot more fun when the Cubs and Cardinals are actually both competitive teams?
Bring on the rivalry.
The 2015 Cardinals project to be very, very good. I don’t even have to run down the various projections to remind you of how stacked they are. And if Adams wants to say the Cubs won’t beat the Cardinals in the NL Central, he and his teammates have the chops to back that up.
I have a feeling that this 2015 Cubs team, however, is plenty comfortable playing the part of underdog, and we know that they’ll win at least some games against the Cardinals. Breathing a little more life into the rivalry, as Adams has, will make it feel all the more satisfying watching the Cubs beat the Cardinals when the two square off head-to-head.
That starts Opening Night, April 5 at Wrigley Field. I can’t freaking wait.
(h/t Ben Schultz for the head’s up on the article)
